This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
Even after Delilah pulled Mordecai to his feet, and even after he gathered Isaac's old Lickitung doll under an arm, Mordecai has not let go of Delilah's hand. Instead, his grip is tighter, almost suffocating. He is the first to raise his eyes. They flit to the floor, momentarily, because he isn't sure if he deserves to look Delilah in the eye, but manages to eventually hold his gaze.
"... you're not... leaving, are you?" he asks in a quiet voice.
His grip on Delilah's hand tightens more.
"... please don't leave."
Because friends come and go, parents don't even have the same exact blood that flows through their children's veins, but siblings had the same elixir pumping through their bodies. He truly believed it was the one bond that could not be severed, but now he wasn't so sure.
she wants to pull away. (she's not wanted; it's obvious, isn't it?) but then he almost strangles her hand, and the woman looks up.
... what?
he doesn't want her to leave? if anything, shouldn't it be ... the other way around? delilah only stares at mordecai for a few moments, mutely opening and closing her mouth. "i ..."
she feels the tears return. "i ... won't. leave, i mean." she bites her lip. "only if you ... want me to stay." delilah had heard him, but she can't believe it. (after everything she's done to him?)
At first, it doesn't seem that Mordecai believed Delilah's words. Rather, his grip on her hand doesn't loosen. Only when she finishes her thoughts does he gradually let go of her hand, returning his own to his side. The Lickitung doll is still under his other arm. His side smarts, and he's convinced that the swelling in his cheek will be ugly, but the bruises don't seem to matter anymore.
"... of course I did," he says quietly.
"I never wanted you to leave."
Of course he didn't want her to leave. They're family, aren't they? If Delilah walked away, if Isaac walked away, he had nothing (and he was pretty sure that Isaac had walked away).
"... but you'll stay, even after everything I've done?" This was probably the third time that Delilah had raised a fist against Mordecai ever since they'd bumped into each other. He blamed himself, mostly. He could not blame her. How could he? He could not blame anyone but himself.
she wants to scream 'liar, liar' and hit him again now that he's let go, but she can't. mordecai has always been the worst liar; she knows that.
so delilah laughs instead, a cracked, dry sound. "what you've done, mordecai?" she chokes out. "i should be the one begging you to stay."
delilah covers her eyes again, her mouth turned up in a broken smile. "how ... can you stand me?" she's never been anything but cruel to him -- and he's done nothing wrong but to leave the abyss of their lives (and she can't even fault him for that, because hasn't she done exactly the same?), so why is it that he's still standing there?
Nowhere in his mind can Mordecai find any wrong that Delilah has done to him. Yes, she's been a bully, and yes, he also knows that Delilah had walked away as well, but it is utterly impossible for him to slide any of the blame onto her.
"... because you're my sister." It's a short reply, an honest reply. He wouldn't leave Isaac either. It was because Mother and Father were gone, which meant that they needed to hold onto the bond that connected the three of them even tighter than before. He could be angry at her, hate her, but there was nothing that he could do to split himself off from her.
Because the familial love was enough to hold onto, anyways.